tighe

What window of time is typically considered "the season" for game in France? Before my trip I read descriptions of several restaurants that noted "features game in season."

The word I've had is "you can miss everything there but the view over Paris." This is the old Samarataine department store resto space? The guide books all said to go for the view, but I never went. On my recent trip I had pain au chocolat and coffee at the roof-top cafe at the Samaritaine. I thought it was a definitive Paris moment, not that the pastry was anything to write home about, but the view was great. A more human scale and perspective compared to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

These places have already been mentioned, but just to second them... Vini e Pane is a terrific place for a casual and inexpensive dinner. My memory is of 4 courses with a different wine with each course for something rediculous like $20 each. Locanda dell'Amorosa in Sinalunga remains one of my very favorite places I've ever dined. Maybe if I bring it up enough times, someone else from eG will go there and confirm or contradict my rosy memory of the place. Depending on your budget, it looks like it would be a nice place to stay as well. Osteria del Teatro has what is, to this day, the best bruschetta I've ever encountered. I have to disagree with Bill's assesment of Cortona, but I was there in the off-season and found it a very hospitable and interesting place.

I had a wonderful dinner at Tina's in July and would highly recommend it. Some of the best rack of lamb I've ever had. My dinner at the Joel Palmer house a few years ago was quite dissapointing.

It my world view, it is nearly impossible to get worse than that cover, I blush every time I see it. It's so bad, I can't even find humor in it. That said, for the few cities I know anything about, their choices are generally inane at best, insane at worst.

I feel better already, knowing that someone will personnally be flipping Monsieur Ripert shit for this one. To me this cover completely contradicts the adage that "all publicity is good publicity."

I would second Merriman's and the Orchid for higher end stuff. I've also heard good things about the Parker Ranch Grill which is recently reopened.

I know it hasn't been summarised here yet, but Gourmet's Restaurant Issue which just arrived is embarassing in any number of ways, not least of which is the cover. Say it ain't so Eric....

For me the all time worst-offender of this type is Tony Roma's, voted 'Best Ribs in Washington' for 8 years running!!

Fleming's in Seattle is no more. There is just no way that that many high-end steak houses were going to make it. iCon was bought by the parent company of Applebee's and there was some talk of transplanting the concept, but I don't know if its happened yet. Last time I was at iCon, it didn't seem like the change of ownership had changed the quality or style of the food, which is a good thing. That was several months ago however.

Cassis is one of my fav's, but I wouldn't say it is particularly romantic. Too noisy for starters and the style of the food is more of the refined bistro variety rather than haute cuisine. If you do a search on this board, I think you will find a fair number of comments about Cassis.

I heartily disagree with you, but hey, different strokes for different folks. Just a tip though...don't ever go to Brasserie Margaux. It's one of my favorite places, but very saucy....

Noodle Boat is definitely not 'up-scale', at least as far as I'm concerned. It seems like a very family oriented place, so taking the munchkin shouldn't be a problem. Price-wise, it may be a little higher than you average Thai joint, but no much.

Is there an echo in here?

Hey, I told you and Laurie that you should go to Le Gourmand and it sucked, so why wouldn't other people take my advice??? The whole Noodle Boat thing worked out though......right?

In case you haven't hunted down the Mistral write-ups already, here's mine from my last anniversary. Includes pics which may give you a better idea of what to expect....

Maximilien is not a good as Rover's, but then again, not nearly as expensive either. Rover's does true haute cuisine, while Maximilien really does a refined version of bistro food. Mistral would also be an excellent choice, with food quality and style more comparable to Rover's.

Both places you mention are good candidates. I think that a window table at Maximilien is one of the most romantic dining spots in town, especially if you get there in time to catch the sunset.

Pyramid is completely non-smoking as far as I know.

I believe you are referring to the Pike Pub & Brewery. I'm not certain about the 'eternal flame' thing, but they do have a cigar room and most brewpubs around here are no-smoking places. 1415 First Ave. Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 622-6044

Driving into work today, I noticed that the Adobo Taco Lounge on Madison appears to be no more. Never ate there myself, but heard from a number of people that the food could be pretty wretched.

This past Sunday I had dinner at a place called La Chaumiere in the 13th. The food and ambiance were both quite nice, but my only reservation in recommneding it would be that the service was pretty shaky, at least by Paris standards. One resource you may want to check out is cityvox.com. They have the best search capabilities for restaurants in Paris that I found, including searching for restaurants open on Sundays.

In all seriousness, the phenomena you identify is interesting. I can explain why large national chains haven't generally done well in dense urban areas as opposed to smaller cities and suburbs, but why they recently have been able to be successful is more of a mystery which I will need to ponder. Besides, I have to go to Paris now....

Their web site still appears to be active. I was hoping to go there when I'm in town next week, it would be a shame if they're out of business.

I thought the problem with Todai was that eating the food there was comparable experience to {expletive deleted}'ing your {expletive deleted}! BLAH BLAH BLAH network effects BLAH BLAH BLAH market segmentation BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH shallow versus deep markets BLAH BLAH BLAH specialization BLAH BLAH. Is that what you had in mind? Edited to add: forgot BLAH BLAH BLAH economies of scale...is it all perfectly clear now?